The shores of Lake Superior are known for there ruggedness.
This composition features part of the shoreline
Found at Pukaskwa National Park
The rock structures are predominantly grey in color
With plant life that can be found in the Arctic
Tag Archives: Pukaskwa National Park
Back In Time( Pukaskwa National Park )
Pukaskwa National Park. Rugged and wild.
A trip back in time. I am going through my files looking for unpublished photos.
I spent a number of summers alone the great Lake Superior. A great learning experience. Geography, History, Geology and many other things.
This is a very early morning shot . The rugged rocky shoreline. A touch of color
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Creating A Composition
As I walked the shoreline of Lake Superior at Pukaskwa National Park late one evening, I envisioned the scene above. It was a late evening with poor lighting. The photographing had not been great. There was some wave action upon the rocks. I came to a sloping rocky shoreline with jagged rocks. The color varied from black to golden brown in color. So I decided to set up my tripod and Canon EOS 7D and see what I could come up with. Shooting tight and set up low I was able to get the above scene. The shutter speed was set to 8 sec and to get the depth of field that I needed at this range, my f-stops was at f22. This is a nice soft and moody composition.
By waiting for the right amount of wave action I was able to get that capture, I was looking for. By shooting at 8 sec. I was able to create a moody scene where by the water now appears misty like among the rocks. The transition from water to rocks is smooth. By smoothing out the many body of water and getting the right lighting and shadows on the rocks I find this to be a very nice scene that will give you a soothing effect. The other way around would be having the waves crashing upon the rocks at a faster shutter speed.
Well that is it for now. Thank you for stopping by. Until next time happy trails.
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A Quiet Summer Evening, Almost
Maureen and I just returned from Pukaskwa National Park, Sunday night. We spent a week camping in this beautiful location. I spent the week photographing and capturing the rugged shorelines of Lake Superior. I had issues with the weather as it was wet and damp for the first part of the trip. Temperatures were cool at night. One evening it was 7 C. The mosquitoes were about during the evenings. Daytime temperatures ranged from 18 to 20 C.
There was one evening when I had almost calm weather for my evening photographing. The above shot is from that evening. It is a good example of the coastline of Lake Superior. The grey rocks here are covered in lichens of various types. I love the reddish orange lichen that boldly contrasts with the grey and black rocks. The sun was below the horizon, allowing for a pinkish cast in the sky. Clouds were a bit scarce, but I was able to wait until the clouds you see in this photograph appeared. They help fill in an otherwise bland sky. I also kept the sky to a minimal.
The wind was quite strong the last half of the week. This created issues with photographing in the evening. Blurry wind blown trees do not make for a good landscape shot. Another factor was that clouds were scarce. Well that is it for this week as I have more photos to process from the trip. Until next time happy trails
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Unique Cloud
Back in June when I was at Pukaskaskwa National Park, I spent an evening photographing sunsets and clouds. My equipment was set up on a viewing platform on the Manitou Miikana Trail, “The Spirit Trail”. As I was photographing one scene, I looked behind me and saw this unique cloud formation that had turned an unique orange color. I reversed the camera on my tripod, found some foreground and composed the above shot. Because I had to deal with wind I kept the foreground dark to avoid any blurriness and for your eye to view the sky.
Well that is it for this week. The Killarney Art Show was a fun filled weekend. Made a little money and met some wonderful people. So until next time, happy trails.
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An Evening Reposed
My last evening at Pukaskaw Provincial Park. I decided to check out the beach nearest the mouth of the Pic River. This beach is the largest near the campgrounds. The beach was covered with driftwood at the high water mark. As I traversed the beach looking for a photographic composition, moose tracks could be seen in the sand. They were old, as debris was filling the tracks. The sun was slowly setting, a nice breeze was wafting in from the Lake Superior. Half way down the lake there was a rock outcropping all by itself at the edge of the beach. In the background was an island.
I set up my tripod low so that I could eliminate as much of the water surface between the rock outcrop in the foreground and the the far island. There is a bit of color in the late evening sky. But nothing dramatic. There is a stark contrast between the black of the volcanic rock and the bold colors of the lichen that forms on theses rocks. Add a couple little plants to the recipe to create this composition. This location is worth a few more trips to photograph.
Well that is it for now. The 36th La Cloche Art Show is now in full swing. It runs till Sunday July 14th from 11 a.m. – to 5:00 p.m.
Two of my works is on display there.
Thank you everyone for stopping by for a visit. Until next time happy trails.
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Art In The Sky
Being this far North in the third week of June, meant that the outdoor conditions are different from our home in Sudbury. The leaf cover had just came out the week before. This gives you that nice fresh yellow green color in the landscape. The wild shrubs were just now in full bloom along with a number of wildflowers. The winter climate up here is so harsh that plants commonly found in the Arctic grow along the shores of Lake Superior. The folks at the Pukaskwa National Park said that the lake water temperature was 3 degrees. Brrr that is cold.
The above photo was taken on one of the three evenings that I set up on the lookout platform on the Manita Miikana Trail overlooking Lake Superior. As I was watching the sun go down towards the West of me I happen to look behind and saw this beautiful cloud pattern with a lot of color. I elected to create a vertical composition to contain the clouds. In the background you can see Horseshoe Bay and part of the sand beach.
Well that is it for this week. I will be set up at the French River Visitors Center for the weekend. I will have a great majority of my work on display. Thank you for stopping by. Have a great July First long weekend and be safe
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Isle In The Mist
My wife Maureen and I returned last Friday from a week at Pukaskwa National Park. This has been a dream trip for me with late morning breakfasts and late evening suppers. The week soared by very quickly as I explored and photographed. Believe it or not I have barely covered this vast wilderness. To be sure there are many more trips to this wonderful park. Maureen and I will be returning in August.
Lake Superior is a vast inland lake. It is the largest freshwater lake in the world with 10% of the world’s surface fresh water. This is a land of rugged shorelines, ancient landscape of the Canadian Shield. This is a lake that one has to respect. From its cold waters, sudden storms and heavy fog you can create beautiful compositions. To sit up on a hill and just observe the magnitude of this landscape is something to behold. With bold sky s, rolling hills and rugged shorelines interspersed with many islands. The wind blows cold. This is a living inland sea.
Maureen and I met wonderful folks here. From John and Garth who are the hosts at the park, to the individual people who work here and share their passion for the park. If an opportunity ever comes to visit Pukaskwa National Park be sure to stop by of an evening to chat with John and Garth at their campfire. They are very knowledgeable about the park.
The above photo was the result of a fog that rolled in about mid afternoon. This is something that happens fairly often. This makes for some very interesting photography. At times you can see nothing and then the fog recedes to allow you to capture the scene as you like. I was standing on the platform at the Manito Miikana Trail looking towards the South when I created this composition.
I will go into more detail on this wonderful park in the future. Its history as well as geological and vegetation facts. Well that is it for now. I have a lot of digital files to go through and process. Until next time happy trails.
Ken Bennison's Photography 